Bay Area stars encourage gay athletes

SAN FRANCISCO -- Because he is also an aspiring actor, 49ers tight end Vernon Davis wanted to know his motivation before filming a new public service announcement.

Producer Sean Maddison told Davis to pretend he was speaking directly to another football player. Specifically, he told him to envision a promising high school sophomore about to quit football for fear of being discovered as gay.

In the resulting ad, Davis glares into the camera.

"You want to play on our team?" he snaps. "If you can play, you can play."

The no-nonsense line is echoed throughout the PSA that began airing Wednesday on Comcast SportsNet Bay Area. The spot features Davis among a chorus of stars from each of the Bay Area's major sports teams: Joe Thornton (Sharks), Klay Thompson (Warriors), Chris Wondolowski (Earthquakes), Barry Zito (Giants), Coco Crisp (A's) and Marcel Reese (Raiders).

San Francisco 49ers' Vernon Davis is among those starring in a Comcast SportsNet Bay Area public service announcement. (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News Group)
(JOSE CARLOS FAJARDO)

The CSNBA ads were created as an extension to the You Can Play Project cofounded by Patrick Burke, a scout for the Philadelphia Flyers. The group lists its goal as "ensuring equality, respect and safety for all athletes, without regard to sexual orientation."

For the Bay Area ads, it wasn't hard to find volunteers.

"I jumped right for the opportunity. I feel that it's a great message, and it's something I support," Wondolowski said.

"I can't imagine how much courage and bravery it would take to come out. I hope we can relay the message that athletes would love to have you as a teammate if you can play. And when you have a locker room full of supportive people, it makes the transition that much easier."

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Thornton said: "This is something we really do believe in. It's what we all feel."

The architect of the local ads is Maddison, who approached CSNBA president Ted Griggs with the idea of creating You Can Play-style ads using local stars. Griggs tested the waters by writing emails to each of the Bay Area's major sports franchises. "And the teams -- every single one of them -- sent an answer back within 5 or 10 minutes saying, 'We're in,' " Griggs said.

Barry Zito of the San Francisco Giants is among those starring in a Comcast SportsNet Bay Area public service announcement (Karl Mondon/Staff)

The CSNBA ads come amid an already eventful year for gays in sports. NBA center Jason Collins became the first openly gay athlete in a major American team sport when he made his announcement in a Sports Illustrated story in April.

Former Major League Soccer player Robbie Rogers revealed in February he is gay. Also that month, 49ers cornerback Chris Culliver made waves at the Super Bowl by saying, "Nah, we don't got no gay people on the team. They gotta get up outta here if they do. Can't be with that sweet stuff. Nah, can't be in the locker room."

But Thornton said the most notable part of filming the PSAs is that they didn't seem notable at all. When teammates skated over to him at the end of practice to see what he was up to, he casually mentioned that he was doing a promo encouraging gay athletes.

Nobody thought it was a big deal.

"And it really wasn't," Thornton said. "It's kind of hard to explain why. It's just that everybody is on board. It's a straightforward message, and I think that's how it should be: We all believe in this cause. If you can play, that's it. Bottom line."

The script for the Bay Area ad is essentially the same one used in the NHL videos. The You Can Play project launched last year using hockey stars staring directly into the camera with a direct message.

The PSAs gained traction in part because they came from one of their own: Patrick Burke is the brother of Brendan Burke, an openly gay hockey player who was killed in a car accident in 2010. He was 21. Their father is Brian Burke, a longtime NHL executive who served most recently as the general manager of the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Sharks forward Tommy Wingels was a close friend of Brendan Burke. In a phone interview this week, he called him "someone that brought smiles to the room with his presence."

The two were teammates with the Miami RedHawks of the Central Collegiate Hockey Association. It was Wingels who introduced Maddison to Patrick Burke, a meeting that inspired the local ads.

Now, Wingels is happy to see some of the biggest names in Bay Area sports rallying around the cause.

"Without a doubt," he said. "These are captains of the teams, guys who are the spokesmen for the team of their sport.

"For kids who are seeing these videos, that's important. You see your favorite NHL player or your favorite MLB player speaking up about it, and you want to be like them."

The Golden State Warriors' Klay Thompson is among those starring in a Comcast SportsNet Bay Area public service announcement. (Doug Duran/Bay Area News Group)